THIS is the terrifying moment bloodthirsty thugs hunted down and mercilessly battered two men in Coventry.

One of the victims was so savagely beaten with a baseball bat and a metal baton, even as he lay unconscious on the ground, he almost died.

Medics had to take “extraordinary” measures to save the 21-year-old dad who suffered a catalogue of horrific injuries, including multiple skull fractures, brain damage and a broken leg.

After waking up from a three-week coma, he could not speak or walk properly for months.

He still suffers seizures and has scars on his head and leg, and on his throat where paramedics performed an emergency tracheotomy.

He needs regular brain scans, is unable to work as a pipe fitter and will be on medication for the rest of his life. His friend escaped with just cuts and bruises.

At Coventry Crown Court, two of the men who carried out the sick attack at a garage in Wyken last May were jailed indefinitely to protect the public.

Mark King, 25, of Elizabeth Way, Walsgrave, was told he must serve at least five years, while Andrew Fitzpatrick, 28, of Dawes Close, Stoke, must serve a minimum of four-and-a-half years.

A third man, Jake Ward, 20, of Buttermere Close, Binley, was sentenced to a maximum of seven years’ detention.

Recorder Michael Elsom told them: “People who set upon fellow members of the human race with weapons, and cause lasting injuries, can expect only the most severe sentences.”

Scott Coughtrie, prosecuting, said the two victims were friends of another man who had been assaulted by Fitzpatrick in Starley Road, near the Skydome, earlier that night.

They and two others took him to A&E at University Hospital, only to find that Fitzpatrick, King and Ward were also there because one of their own friends had been hurt in an unrelated incident.

After a “heated argument” between the two groups, the defendants were thrown out by security staff, but lay in wait in Fitzpatrick’s van outside, and followed four of the others after they left and got into a taxi.

At a set of red traffic lights in Clifford Bridge Road, the defendants got out of the van and smashed the back window of the silver Peugeot 406 with a baseball bat.

They then chased the car to the BP garage on the corner of Ansty Road and Sewall Highway.

The cabbie and two passengers ran off, but the remaining two were cornered by King with a baseball bat and Ward with an extendable baton.

The first victim escaped with cuts and bruises, but his friend was not so lucky.

Mr Coughtrie said: “The two males were seen raising the weapons above their heads and raining blows to his head and body with force.

“The blows continued even after he was motionless and unconscious.”

All three admitted causing grievous bodily harm and actual bodily harm, even though Fitzpatrick had not been directly involved.

Fitzpatrick also admitted assaulting the man near the Skydome, while King admitted biting a man’s ear and stamping on his head at Kokos in Leamington on April 17.

The court heard Fitzpatrick had previously served 44 months in jail for hitting someone in the face with a bottle, while King had served two years for glassing a doorman.

Ward had a previous conviction for assaulting a police officer.

Defence barristers said all three men had shown genuine remorse, especially Ward.

Sanjeev Sharma, for Ward, said: “He wishes he could turn back the clock, unhappily for him, he can’t

“He has thrown away the best years of his life for an evening of complete and utter stupidity.”

Richard Murray said King regularly abused cocaine and alcohol, but insisted there was “another side” to the “hard-working family man”.

He said: “He has had a stark wake-up call to the level of injury he has caused to another human being.”

Rhona Campbell said Fitzpatrick had instructed her not to mitigate on his behalf, or minimise his role.

The 200-plus days each man had already spent on remand will count towards their sentence.